


Bleeding Old Faith

by Desired_Misery



Series: Sinners finding Salvation [2]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arguments, Emotional Manipulation, Ending Relationship, Falling Out of Favor, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Protective Hosea Matthews
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28119891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desired_Misery/pseuds/Desired_Misery
Summary: Hosea's frustration with Dutch's recent decisions are growing. Dutch doesn't tolerate challenges to his authority anymore.
Relationships: Hosea Matthews & Dutch van der Linde, Hosea Matthews/Dutch van der Linde
Series: Sinners finding Salvation [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057520
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Bleeding Old Faith

Dutch and Micah returned from the parley without Arthur. Both men were sitting up tall, the horses were calm and collected. No injuries to either of them. Only irritated lines cut into Dutch’s face instead of grief. Hosea does not think the worst happened.

“Where’s Arthur?” Hosea abandons the newspapers he’d been pouring over that afternoon, looking for leads or hints at possible jobs while waiting for the parley’s results. Hosea would have thought Dutch mad for going with only two men other than their two best guns.

“Thought he would be here.” Dutch slides of The Count, frowning in Hosea’s direction but eyes scanning the evening crowd. 

“Probably off doing god knows what, as usual,” Micah drawls without concern and stretches out his legs, glancing around camp with the two of them. 

Hosea takes The Count’s reins. The stallion eyes Hosea, but with Dutch’s hand on the Arabian’s shoulder, the two of them escort the onery horse to the rest of the herd. Arthur’s dark bay Andalusian is not with the rest of them.

Dutch swears under his breath. “Waste of time, Hosea. A grand waste of time for Colm to smile like a snake at us.”

“Arthur,” Hosea prompts as he uncinches the saddle for Dutch to place on the fence. Kieran is hovering on the opposite side, doing a decent job at looking occupied with one of the newer horses.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him. Fighting with folk here, storming out of camp for days at a time. He was worrying like an old maid all the ride there, then left us as soon as it was clear Colm was only there to needle us.” Dutch swipes the saddle cloth off the stallion’s back too fast for the animal’s liking. The Count stops his foot and snaps at Hosea’s hands.

Hosea continues to rub down the horse’s neck, using his own glare to warn the stallion off. “I told you, Dutch—”

“You said it was a trap! It wasn’t. A false branch of hope and a waste of my time.” Dutch snarls. “I should have shot Colm and ended it there myself—”

“At least one of you would have come back dead. Colm is no idiot.” Hosea weathers Dutch’s temper without a twitch. “Something was going on—”

“Arthur is a better shot than any O’Driscoll could dream to be. We were as safe as we could have been.” Dutch continues, ignoring the danger he had willingly walked into only because it turned out alright.

It is Hosea’s turn to grit his teeth. “You would have been safer here. The risk, Dutch. Why even take it?”

Dutch spins around, dark eyes catching the light like The Count’s coat gleaming in the campfire. “Have some faith, Hosea! I understood the risk. If we had ended things with Colm, that would have—”

“Well, you didn’t. Were you followed? It was Colm’s idea for the parley, Dutch—”

“That snake is as mercurial as the midwestern weather. It wasn’t my fault Colm decided he didn’t want the offer he made first. I was ready to end it— you’re always the one harassing me about the danger. I decided it was worth the risk in the best interest of the gang. Don’t you go questioning me when I try to fix things—” All the words spilling from Dutch’s mouth are old in meaning as the man bristles at Hosea’s concerns.

“Alright, Dutch.” Hosea raises his hands, abandoning caring for the stallion. God knows Dutch won’t concede.

“I don’t trust Colm, you know that.” Hosea continues, softening his tone into something wearier.

Dutch seems to deflate some at that, no longer looming in Hosea’s face. Instead of anger, disappointment and fatigue settle into the creases around Dutch’s eyes.

“I could do without the constant challenges, Hosea.” Dutch sighs, revealing a moment of vulnerability that the gang doesn’t get to see. They’re tucked against The Count, hidden by the shadows surrounding the camp.

“If it was just you, I could take it. But now? After Blackwater, the gang needs us strong. I can’t have you questioning my every move. Arthur’s doing enough backtalk—”

Instead of cooling the anger, Hosea had accidentally deflected it. 

“Arthur’s tired, Dutch. We all are. You’ve got him running all over the damn country for every little thing—”

“Because I trust him! He’s keeping us together.” Dutch hisses, sliding the bridle off The Count’s head when the horse stomps its feet at the lack of attention after a hot day. “But if Arthur keeps this up… I won’t be able to protect him if he’s off following his own instincts.”

Hosea keeps his mouth shut, not wanting to say the words that pop into his head on impulse. There is no hope in continuing this argument. Dutch has made up his mind. Outside influence has been having less and less effect since Blackwater.

Faced with silence, Dutch sighs again and rubs a hand over his face before smoothing down his mustache. He takes Hosea’s shoulders with gentle hands.

“It will turn out with hard work and faith, Hosea. Trust me.” Eyes search Hosea’s, seeking validation he struggles to muster. Dutch’s head slowly lowers, pressing his forehead against Hosea’s chest, hands sliding up to rest on either side of his neck.

“We’re all tired, Dutch.” Hosea leans into the contact, feeling the tension in his back loosen a little. Giving room for the relief at Dutch’s safe return to flood through him.

“I know, old dear, I know.” Dutch murmurs, smoothing a firm thumbs down a lingering knot in Hosea’s neck. “Arthur’s taken a break, I guess. He can handle himself just fine.”

“We’re all running ragged after Blackwater, we need a break.” Hosea insists, voice flat without any emotion in it to strengthen his point. Dutch supports more of his weight as Hosea leans into him, easing out the lingering neck pain with his hands. “This cannot last.”

“I won’t let it. I’m getting it sorted. Can you hold out for me until then?”

“For you, Dutch? Of course.”

  
  


That was the problem, wasn’t it?

Whatever Dutch decided should be done, it was. No questions asked.

Hosea watched Dutch’s back disappear into his tent after another argument about Arthur's whereabouts, wondering through his cold-burning anger when it became more common for Dutch to leave him than to give weight to Hosea’s words. 

Whatever had happened in Blackwater, it is festering inside Dutch. It could have even started before that, really. Hosea had spent less time with Dutch in favor of the boys in recent years. If what Hosea and Dutch had was love in their early days, then they had fallen out of it years ago.

At the time, Hosea thought it as a natural fade as the two of them and the boys turned into a small family— then the whole gang. Jobs got bigger, more dangerous. Messier. It took so much more to feed that many mouths. 

Dutch’s philosophy was growing even more than the Van der Linde Gang and the wanted posters plastered across cities. Nothing could puncture that fantasy and keep Dutch closer to the ground. If anything threatened to bring reality into the equation, it was Dutch’s temper that exploded.

They used to be equals.

**Author's Note:**

> probably more heavy-handed on the emotions/relationships between Hosea and Dutch than I want it to be, but I'm trying to write away my anxiety so here's some more of this series.
> 
> your comments/thoughts are welcome and appreciated


End file.
